PPARβ/δ in human cancer

The nuclear receptor factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR beta/delta) can regulate its target genes by transcriptional activation or repression through both ligand-dependent and independent mechanism as well as by interactions with other transcription factors. PPAR beta/delta exerts essential regulatory functions in intermediary metabolism that have been elucidated in detail, but clearly also plays a role in inflammation, differentiation, apoptosis and other cancer-associated processes, which is, however, mechanistically only partly understood. Consistent with these functions clinical associations link the expression of PPAR beta/delta and its target genes to an unfavorable outcome of several human cancers. However, the available data do not yield a clear picture of PPAR beta/delta role in cancer-associated processes and are in fact partly controversial. This article provides an overview of this research area and discusses the role of PPAR beta/delta in cancer in light of the complex mechanisms of its transcriptional regulation and its potential as a druggable anti-cancer target. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. and Societe Francaise de Biochimie et Biologie Moleculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.